US Rep. Al Green speaks in Austin at NAACP advocacy day
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Just two weeks after getting kicked out of the U.S. House chambers during President Donald Trump's address to Congress, U.S. Rep Al Green, D-Houston, spoke to supporters at a Texas NAACP advocacy day event.
"I want you to know that if the Congress won't act and if the court can't act because (Trump) won't abide by the rulings of the court... there is but one remedy left," Green said during a fiery 50-minute speech. "We the people. We the people will have the last word... this country was built on we the people. The country wasn't built on DOGE. The country won't be destroyed by DOGE."
Green's removal from the House floor
After the speech, Green touched on his reasoning for what happened during Trump's speech.
"I did not go to do what I did," Green said. "I left my office and I went there to peacefully protest by simply leaving."
But then Trump opened "the opportunity to tell (Trump) to his face that he did not have a mandate to cut Medicaid," according to Green. "(My Democratic colleagues) stood up and voiced their opinion, which they have every right to do. I don't condemn them in any way, but in doing it -- my voice was sort of muted. So I voiced it again. My continuation had more to do with trying to make sure that the President heard my message... So I persisted with my message and as a result of my being persistent, the Speaker (Mike Johnson) did what I believe the rules require him to do and he asked that I be removed."
Speaking on the potential for bipartisanship after his removal, his censure and pending resolutions to strip him of his committee assignments, Green said, "I'll give you a great example of bipartisanship in the House. We just passed a continuing resolution. The bipartisanship consisted of capitulation, not cooperation. Here is your bill - take it or leave it. That was what we had."
"I'm willing to negotiate, but you have to have a partner to do it," Green continued.
Green's thoughts on school choice
While Green mostly discussed federal politics, he took time to comment on the proposed Education Savings Account (ESA) legislation - which would give taxpayer dollars to help families pay for private education. Legislation establishing ESAs sailed through the Texas Senate at the beginning of the session and is one of Gov. Greg Abbott's highest priorities.
"(In 1955 Milton Friedman) proposed vouchers as a means of maintaining segregation," Green said. "I don't want to go back to a segregated society, I'm an integrationist. I went to segregated schools... It wasn't until I went to an integrated school that I knew what my parents had told me. They told me you were as good as anyone else. You can do whatever anyone else can do, but I didn't know it until I went to an integrated school."
In addition to ESA legislation, Green talked about what he sees as the biggest problem in Texas state politics.
"The politics that have really had an impact on the Congress, on the State House and the State Senate would be the politics of gerrymander," Green said. "We gerrymander to the extent that the majority in Texas has a minority of the seats. That has to change."